Which credit card earns more cash back overall?
Based on identical spending inputs, you’ll earn $208.80 cash back per year with Chase Freedom Unlimited and $180.00 with Sallie Mae Accelerate. For context, the average annual rewards payout from the cashback credit cards in the investor.com database is $181.73.
The annual rewards payout assumes you charge $1,000 each month spread across the following spending categories: Dining ($145), Entertainment ($134), Gas ($140), Groceries ($198), Travel ($128), Pharmacy ($15), and Other ($240). The dollar amounts for each category are based on consumer spending data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (i.e., how much the average American spends proportionally across the major credit card rewards categories). But you can — and absolutely should! — customize the inputs based on your actual monthly spending habits, using our rewards calculator.
To ensure the most accurate results possible, the rewards calculations for Chase Freedom Unlimited and Sallie Mae Accelerate incorporate bonus rewards rates, spending caps, default rewards rates and annual fees, where applicable.
Is the Chase Freedom Unlimited good?
Don’t yet qualify for one of Chase’s coveted Sapphire cards? Use this as a gateway card.
thumb_up Likes
- Unlimited 1.5% to 3% cashback (we like unlimited)
- 5% unlimited cashback on travel purchased through Chase
- $200 signup bonus
- No annual fee
- 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months
- Transferable points within Chase ecosystem
thumb_down Dislikes
- Only bonus categories are Dining and Drugstores (and Chase-booked travel)
- 3% foreign transaction fee
- 3% balance-transfer fee jumps to 5% after first 60 days
| Category |
Default Rate |
Bonus Rate |
Bonus Spend Cap |
Bonus Spend Period (Months) |
| Gas |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Travel |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Dining |
3.00% |
- |
- |
- |
| Entertainment |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Pharmacy |
3.00% |
- |
- |
- |
| Groceries |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Other Purchases |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
Is the Sallie Mae Accelerate good?
If paying down your student loans is a priority, this cashback card from Sallie Mae offers an incentive — a 33 1/3% rewards rate booster (turning a 1.5% cashback rate to 2% cashback) to direct the money towards any federal or private loan.
thumb_up Likes
- Earn 2% cashback when redeemed to help pay down a student loan
- No annual fee
- $200 bonus for spending $1K in first three months
- No cap or expiration on rewards
- Secondary cell phone coverage and other Mastercard bennies
thumb_down Dislikes
- Limited redemption options (which is kinda the point, but still)
- The 1.5% base cashback rate is pretty basic
- $25 reward redemption minimum
- No welcome bonus or 0% intro APR on transfers or purchases
- The 3% foreign transaction and 5% cash advance fees will leave a mark
- Not really worth it if you don’t have student loan debt
| Category |
Default Rate |
Bonus Rate |
Bonus Spend Cap |
Bonus Spend Period (Months) |
| Gas |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Travel |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Dining |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Entertainment |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Pharmacy |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Groceries |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Other Purchases |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
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Methodology
The results of the investor.com Credit Card Rewards Calculator are based on the monthly spending amounts you enter and the annual dollar value of the rewards each credit card program pays per $1 spent. Credit card companies often express this payout amount as a percentage (e.g., 1.5% of every dollar spent) or on a points basis (e.g. ,1.5 points for every dollar spent). We converted all of them to a dollar amount (“Cash Back Per Year”) to make comparing offers easier.
To calculate the amount of cash back you could earn per year, we factored in:
- Spend category inputs: The default dollar values for each “Spend Category” in the Best Cashback Credit Cards tool — gas, groceries, travel, restaurant, entertainment, pharmacy, other — are based on average American spending data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We also include additional spend categories (such as streaming services, online shopping, utilities, transit, Amazon and more) to help you see which rewards cards are most closely aligned with your actual spending patterns. We encourage you to customize the monthly spend inputs for the most accurate results.
- Tiered rewards rates: If a rewards credit card pays higher cashback rates on certain spending categories (also called “Bonus Rewards”), that difference is reflected in the total “Cash Back Per Year” tally.
- Rewards spending caps: Some cards impose category- or time-based limits (monthly, quarterly, annually) that affect the amount of rewards you can earn. For example, a card may pay 3% cash back on groceries on up to $1,000 of spending each quarter, then revert to the base/default rewards rate until the following quarter. We accounted for bonus spending caps and timeframe in the calculations.
- Default rewards rates: Purchases that exceed a spending cap are usually subject to a lower default rewards rate (e.g., 1% or 1.5%). We mathed that out too.
- Annual fees: If a rewards card charges an annual fee, we deducted that amount from the “Cash Back Per Year” total to provide a true accounting of a card’s annual rewards payout.
What’s not included in the “Cash Back Per Year” total is the cash value of any sign-up/introductory bonus. We highlight any Welcome Bonus separately. While sign-up bonuses can be the most lucrative part of getting a new cashback rewards credit card, not everyone will want or be able to do what it takes to earn the extra cash. (It usually requires spending a certain amount in a specified time period after the card is activated.)
